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I love a good farm visit. And I love getting to know where my food comes from and who is responsible for it. When I was invited to come and check out Buckeye Country Creamery in Ashland this week, I jumped at the chance.

It’s a family run dairy farm (two generations at work) that’s been operating for more than 25 years. But only in the last year and a half have they launched their creamery, an endeavor that required a significant leap of faith and capital investment on the part of the Lahmers Family. But they’re banking on the “If you build it, they will come” concept. Or rather, “If you milk it, they will come.”

They have a herd of 130 cows right now, which they milk twice a day, and produce 900 pounds of milk daily. What makes their milk different? The A2A2. It’s the type of beta-casein protein that is easier on your digestive system. Many people who cannot usually drink milk, and consider themselves lactose intolerant, can drink A2A2 milk without side effects. That’s a game changer for some families.

The other thing that differentiates them from other nearby creameries…flavored milk. It’s a heckofa lot easier to get a child to drink a tall glass of “cookies and cream” milk than plain old cows milk, right? Buckeye Country Creamery’s line of products include strawberry, chocolate, cookies and cream, and mocha flavored milk. (They add the powdered flavoring during the pasteurization process) These varieties are especially creamy, because the flavors are made with whole milk. They also make drinkable yogurt, mozzarella cheese and ice cream with the same A2 properties. We got a chance to sample milk flavors, the yogurt and ice cream from Buckeye, and my girls guzzled it all down! I think the yogurts were gone in a day!

For those food conscious readers, their pasteurization process is also worth noting. The milk at Buckeye Country Creamery is pasteurized slowly, at a low temperature, to keep more enzymes and proteins intact. It’s not homogenized, so the cream rises to the top, as they say.

Locals can buy up the products coming out of the Lahmers Dairy Farm, at their modest store on site…a glorified hallway, really. They stock the fridge and operate on the honor system.

“Sometimes we get an IOU in there,” jokes dairy farmer, Christy Hulse.

Word is getting out in the Ashland area. People are popping in on a weekly basis and pick up the essentials.

“We’re going to need a bigger fridge,” Hulse said, with a smile.

You can find Buckeye Country Creamery’s line of products at 120 locations between Cleveland and Columbus, including the West Side Market, Case Western Reserve University and Miles Farmers Market. (runs about $3.99 for half gallon, $6.99 a gallon) Click here for a complete list.

Disclosure: I was invited to visit the farm and write about my experience, in exchange for a sampling of their products.

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I won’t shop, cook or cut meat quite the same from now on. I had the pleasure of attending a Butcher Class at Urban Farmer recently. They went above and beyond to teach, answer questions and arm attendees with the information and know-how they’d need to select the best cuts of meat, and best utilize less popular, yet more economical cuts.

Head Butcher and Urban Farmer Sous Chef, Vincent Delagrange, lead the class. He’s been professionally cutting meat since 2011. He knows his stuff. He whizzed through the prepared Beef 101 slides, covering the basics, like “What is a steak?” (2″ thick or under with a quick cooking method) and “what makes it tender?” (It’s inversely related to the amount of work a muscle has to during the life of the animal). Fat is flavor, and the fattier the beef, the beefier the flavor. This is an equation I can study.

Here’s what I learned:

Delagrange also touched on U.S.D.A. grading, explaining that most meat we see in a butcher shop of the meat counter is Prime (highest designation, less than 2% of cattle) or Choice (less marbling, but widely available), occasionally Select (lean and less available, potentially tough).

And then there’s is Wagyu. It’s the Cadillac of cows, people. It has a high percentage of marbling which far exceeds that of USDA Prime. Yes, please. And get this: “Kobe” beef isn’t really Kobe beef unless it is from Tajima breed cows raised in the Hyogo prefecture of Japan, and you’re eating it in Japan. They don’t export it. So all those times you THINK you’ve purchased or been served Kobe beef…you were duped. How about that?!

We did a blind taste teste comparing the Prime cuts they source at the restaurant, versus a Choice cut offered at a large (unnamed) grocery chain. Not a tough call.

Delegrange was happy to answer all kinds of questions the group had about shopping for beef too. Like “What day is best to shop for meat?” Answer: find out which day of the week your local butcher or grocer gets their shipments. And that’s the day! Likely Friday morning is good. For large chains, Delegrange suggests checking their ads. The first day sales take effect you’re sure to find the freshest product. And for markdowns…try Sunday evening, or Monday. What I was surprised to hear was those markdowns haven’t been sitting there for days…only a couple of hours. So scoop them up, check the freshness or sell-by date and save!

I learned that you can identify high quality meat by look and touch. There should be exterior fat (remember, fat=flavor!). Press on the side of that fat. You’ll want it spongey, or to bounce back, not firm. And you’re looking for a good balance or ratio of interior or marbelized fat to exterior fat.

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Delegrange also suggests secondary cuts to satisfy your beef craving and your budget. Swap Ribeye for Chuckeye, Tenderloin for Sirloin and Strip Steak for Coulotte. The idea is to buy a piece of meat that can be grilled and sliced to serve a larger number of people. The guy has four kids at home. I trust his advice! He also favors the flat iron, tri tip, Babette and ribeye cap.

The group also got a first hand look at how dry aging is achieved and how animals are broken down at Urban Farmer’s in house butcher shop. And get a lot of their charcuterie program! Meat me, please!

We were given a handful of great recipes from Delegrange, plus some helpful handouts to help decider between corn-fed, grass-fed and dry-aged beef for the purposes of shopping and ordering at our favorite restaurants. And BONUS: there were swag bags with “Beefy” t shirts (which I admittedly had my eye on at the hostess stand) plus some seeds to start our garden this season.

If you’d like to sign up for one of these comprehensive classes, their next butcher class is Saturday, June 17th from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. This one is a showdown between the Carolina’s versus Texas BBQ. Event details here:

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Culinary worlds will collide at a mouth-watering event, hosted at a cool new venue. Local Sol presents the first annual “Wholey Cow” event on Sunday, February 28th. And like the title suggests, they’re bringing in a whole cow. Yowza.

Chef Michael Schoen has recruited five other talented local chefs to develop the menu and prepare the feast. He’s got my buddy, and former Iron Chef competition partner, Matt Mytro, plus Joe Lang, of Flour, Chef Mike Keyerleber, from Great Scott Tavern, Hunter Toth from The Morehouse, and Paul Hamalainen, of Beach Club Bistro.

The team will divvy up the cuts and make a monster sized buffet that will satisfy any appetite. Oh yeah…and it’s all you can eat. SOLD!

If that wasn’t enough to clear your calendar…they have also paired up with Platform Beer Co. to offer featured brew, also all you can drink. CHEERS!

The buffet will also be stocked with items for Vegans, Vegetarians and those adhering to the Gluten Free lifestyle, so no need to stay home if you follow any of those diets.

I had brunch at Local Sol (38257 Glenn Avenue Willoughby, OH 44094) over the weekend, and loved the transformation they’ve pulled off in the space. What used to be the formal dining room of an Italian restaurant (Gavi’s) is now a cross between a cantina, a tiki bar and a Salvador Dali painting. So many cool design elements that you might miss if you’re not looking for them.

Loved the ceiling, the Bloody Mary bar, and the drift wood decor. And your eye is immediately drawn to the lights hanging down the middle of the main dining room, brought in from St. Mary’s Church in Painesville, Ohio.

It’s easy to see how this space will become a great party atmosphere. To amp up that aspect, the event planners have live music lined up throughout the afternoon and evening. “SB and the Lovelies” And “DJ Shawn Brewster” will be spinning records 3-5, trio 5-7, and DJ @ 7:00pm.

But I have your chance to WIN A PAIR of tickets to this foodie bash. Mark your calendar, and set an alert. The twentieth person to call Local Sol at 2pm on Wednesday, Feb. 17th, will win a pair of tickets to Wholey Cow. (440) 918-1596. Good luck. See you there!